Claymores Continue Season-Opening Homestand
April 9, 2003 - National Football League Europa (NFLE)
Scottish Claymores News Release
The Scottish Claymores (1-0) will play their second home game in as many weeks when they host the Frankfurt Galaxy (1-0) on Sunday afternoon at Glasgow's Hampden Park. Both clubs are coming off opening weekend wins, with the Claymores setting numerous league and team records in defeating Berlin 62-31 last Sunday at Hampden, and the Galaxy pulling out a dramatic win over F.C. Barcelona 15-13 in Frankfurt. The Claymores are looking halt a three-game losing streak to Frankfurt, with their last win against the Galaxy coming on April 21, 2001, a 24-21 win at Hampden. The Galaxy swept the season series in 2002 with wins of 16-9 in Germany and 14-10 in Scotland in weeks three and four. This will mark the 17th meeting in the history of the teams, with the all-time regular series tied at 8-8. The Claymores defeated the Galaxy in their lone post-season match-up, a 32-27 win in World Bowl IV at Edinburgh's Murrayfield Stadium on June 23, 1996. Sunday's game will be broadcast live in the United States on DirecTV at 3:00 PM local time and 10:00 AM EDT. FOX Sports Broadcaster Rich Cellini will handle the U.S. play-by-play, and he will be joined in the broadcast booth by analyst Kelly Stouffer.
THE HEAD COACHES
Gene Dahlquist is on the Claymores' sideline for his third season, and currently carries a record of 10-11 as an NFLE head coach. The 60-year-old head coach brings 30 years college coaching experience to the Claymores and, before moving to NFL Europe, he most recently held the position as offensive passing game coordinator at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas in 2000. Prior to joining John Robinson's staff at UNLV, Dahlquist served as offensive coordinator, quarterbacks and receivers coach at the University of Texas from 1992-1997 where he helped direct the Longhorns to three Big XII Conference titles and three bowl appearances. From 1988-91, he was again the offensive coordinator at the University of Illinois, and steered the Fighting Illini offense to one Big Ten Championship and four Bowl appearances under head coach John Mackovic, helping to develop future NFL #1 pick, quarterback Jeff George. Prior to his stint at Illinois, he worked with close friend and former Claymores head coach Jim Criner for 10 years. The two coaches worked together at Iowa State University from 1983-86 and at Boise State University from 1977-82, where Dahlquist served as the offensive coordinator. Together, Dahlquist and Criner helped drive Boise State to five Big Sky Conference titles and one NCAA Division 1-AA National Championship. Prior to coaching at Boise State, Dahlquist was the offensive coordinator at the University of Oregon from 1974-76 and quarterbacks coach at the University of Utah from 1971-73. He kicked off his coaching career as quarterbacks coach at Idaho State University from 1968-70. Dahlquist received his Master's Degree in Education from Idaho State University in 1974, graduating from the University of Arizona with his bachelor's degree in 1965, where he played college football as a quarterback and punter. Following his collegiate career, Dahlquist played professional football from 1965-66 as a quarterback and punter in the Continental Football League in the United States with the Norfolk Neptunes. Dahlquist, a native of Mount Prospect, Illinois, he and his wife Toni currently reside in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Doug Graber is in his third season as the head coach of the Frankfurt Galaxy, and comes in to this week's contest with a record of (10-11). In 2002, Graber led the Galaxy to a 6-4 mark as the team only missed out on a berth in World Bowl X in the final week of the season. He became the fourth head coach in Galaxy history on September 18, 2000, succeeding current New York Jets tight ends coach Dick Curl. Graber previously served as the head coach at Rutgers University from 1990-95. From 1987-89, he was the defensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and led the Bucs to be the NFL's top-ranked rushing defense in 1988. He was the defensive backs coach for the Kansas City Chiefs from 1983-86 and tutored a secondary that led the NFL with 120 interceptions in that four-year period. He was the head coach at Montana State University in 1982 after serving as the defensive backs coach at the University of Wisconsin from 1978-81. He served in the same role at Ball State University from 1976-77. Graber has also held coaching positions at Eastern Michigan University and Michigan Technological University and started his coaching career at St. Francis Cabrini High School in Allen Park, Michigan, where he was the head coach from 1967-68. The
QUOTES FROM THE COACH
Catching up with Claymores' Head Coach Gene Dahlquist for some of his latest thoughts:
(On matching up with Frankfurt) "Frankfurt Galaxy in the last two years have provided this league with an offense and defense that have been among the best, if not the very best. They are well coached by Coach Graber and are formidable opponents."
(On his expectations for the rest of the season) "We've raised the expectation level of our fans and we will do the best to fulfill those expectations in the coming week. It's crucial that our players show and maintain the same hunger to do well this week against the Galaxy as they did last week against the Thunder."
SUPER BOWL RINGS ON DISPLAY
The 2003 Scottish Claymores roster features members of each of the past two Super Bowl champions. Wide Receiver Scott McCready became the first English-born player to earn a Super Bowl ring as a member of the Super Bowl XXXVI winning New England Patriots. He is joined by center Jason Scukanec, who was part of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers squad that won Super Bowl XXXVII just a few months ago. The hardware isn't only on the players fingers, though, as Claymores first-year offensive coordinator Ken Margerum also holds a ring, earned in the 1985 season, when the Chicago Bears won Super Bowl XX.
Glasgow- (Mild, Clear) - The Scottish Claymores kicked off their 2003 NFL Europe season in grand fashion, clobbering the two-time defending World Bowl champion Berlin Thunder 62-31, as records fell all over Hampden Park. The 14,894 raucous fans were treating to an offensive showcase as both sides wore out the scoreboard. The 62 points put up by the Claymores broke the NFLE record for most points scored in a game, previously set at 59 by the Rhein Fire in 1999, and the 93 combined points scored bested the old league mark of 90, set in a game between the Barcelona Dragons and Berlin in 2001. Team records were not the only ones to fall on the day. Running back Ken Simonton, allocated from the Buffalo Bills, set a new team mark and tied a league record with four touchdowns scored on the day, all coming on the ground. He scored on runs on 11, five, three and five yards on the day. Simonton's backfield mate Maurice Hicks wasn't going to be outdone, setting an NFLE mark of his own with a touchdown run of 93 yards to cap the day's scoring late in the fourth quarter, besting the previous record of 90 yards set by the Rhein Fire's Jamal Robertson last season against Frankfurt. Hicks' record-setter came after he had already galloped into the end zone on a run of 32 yards in the third period. The contest was definitely a tale of two halves. There was very little defense played by either side in the first half, as the Thunder took a 31-28 lead into the locker room. The 59-point was also a league record, topping the previous high of 52, also set in the 90-point game from 2001. The Claymores defense stiffened following the break, and refused to allow any Thunder points in the second half, while the offense exploded for 41 unanswered points to ice the victory. Quarterbacks Craig Nall and Shane Stafford each threw a touchdown pass, hooking up with wide receivers John Minardi and Scott McCready respectively, and combined to complete nearly 70% of their passes for 268 yards. The offensive line paved the way for the six ground scores and 288 total team rushing yards, all without allowing a sack. The defensive awakening of the second half was keyed by the play of the secondary. Cornerback Deveron Harper ripped the ball out of the arms of Thunder receiver Pierre Brown to force the first of three second half turnovers that were all turned into Claymores touchdowns. Strong safety Robbie Robinson, a St. Louis Rams allocate, had a pair of interceptions, returning one down to the Berlin five-yard line. Defensive end Radell Lockhart also added a pair of fourth quarter sacks to give the crowd even more to cheer about. Simonton, the game's MVP as voted by the fans and press, gave the credit for his record-setting day to the big guys up front. "Our line is good, but I didn't expect them to be that good. I don't think I've had a line ever play that well this early in a season. I never really felt pressed today. My goal was to come out and feel relaxed, since it had been a year since I last played, and they allowed me to do that early and often. I could just relax and see the holes, so my hat's off to them."
RUSHING: BER- Irvin 6-53, Allen 11-30, Burris 2-14-TD, Stambaugh 1-1; SCO- Hicks 12-149-2 TD, Simonton 17-94-4 TD, Malan 2-23, Nall 2-18, Hutchinson 1-3, Stafford 2-1.
RECEIVING: BER- Irvin 7-70, Brown 6-97-TD, Thurmon 5-44, Allen 3-35, Fletcher 3-34, Heckenbach 2-35-TD, Prince 2-13, Hayes 1-15, Rogers 1-9, Scott 1-5; SCO- Shepherd 4-73, Simonton 4-45, Minardi 3-64-TD, Couper 1-35, McCready 1-26-TD, Trafford 1-12, Bright 1-8, Malan 1-5.
PASSING: BER- Stambaugh 27-19-1 INT-1TD, Burris 16-12-1 INT- 1TD; SCO- Nall 14-10-0 INT-1 TD, Stafford 9-6-2 INT-1 TD.
INT: BER- Coleman 1-38-TD; SCO- R. Robinson 2-50.
SACKS: BER- None; SCO- Lockhart 2-13, D. Robinson 1-6. SCOTTISH CLAYMORES QUOTES
BERLIN THUNDER (31) AT SCOTTISH CLAYMORES (62)
APRIL 6, 2003 â HAMPDEN PARK, GLASGOW, SCOTLAND
Head Coach Gene Dahlquist: "From our perspective, I think our coaches did a great job of preparing this team to play this opening game of the season. The turnovers in the first half made it tough on us. Berlin had some turnovers in the second half that made it tough on them. It was interesting the way our team hung in there as a team and did not get discouraged and worked hard. It was a good effort all day on both sides of the ball and it got better and better as the game went on. The effort made by our players all through training camp, adapting to getting over here, and getting off to a start like this is start is a great job. Our coaches really did a good job in getting the team ready to play."
"I don't think there will be a problem getting this group of players to focus and to get better. They're good people and they work hard, and I think they want to win. It's important for all of us that we do a great job this year, and they are enthused about the opportunity that they have as a team to be good, and hopefully represent Scotland in the World Bowl. "
Offensive Coordinator Ken Margerum: "I don't consider following it, it was just one game. The guys definitely executed the plays they've been taught, and they really did a nice job. The defense played great and gave us some turnovers and good field position in the second half, so I think the score is a little bit inflated over what it really should have been. It's nice to have the offense balanced, run and pass, and when you keep the offense balanced, it keeps the opponent honest."
Quarterback Craig Nall: "Whenever you're on a roll like that in the offense, it's fun whether you're handing the ball off or throwing it deep. It was a spectacular effort by our team. We expected to come out and move the ball, which is what we did. From that standpoint, this is what we expected. We came out and executed well. The play calling was great. We kept mixing it up, running the ball and throwing when we needed to. But scoring 62 points, if you had asked me earlier in the week, I never would have said we would do that."
Running Back Maurice Hicks: "I really wasn't thinking about it before it happened. They told me to go out there and run the clock down. It wouldn't have happened without the offensive line doing their job and making some great blocks."
Strong Safety Robbie Robinson: "Our corners did a great job of jamming the receivers, so I had more time to read the quarterback and be in the right place to make the plays. He almost threw it right to me. Our corners did a great job all day, which makes my job easier."
Running Back Ken Simonton: "Yeah, I've had a game like that before. Something was kind of different about this, though. I just kept falling into the right situations. Edell (Shepherd) got the pass interference call and I got an easy touchdown, Robbie (Robinson) gets the interception and I get another easy one. A lot of things fell into place for me today."
"Our line is good, but I didn't expect them to be that good. I don't think I've had a line ever play that well this early in a season. I never really felt pressed today. My goal was to come out and feel relaxed, since it had been a year since I last played, and they allowed me to do that early and often. I could just relax and see the holes, so my hat's off to them."
SCOTTISH CLAYMORES GAME NOTES: Claymores captains for game one were WR Scott Couper, DE Chris Ward, LB Yubrenal Isabelle and DE Robert Flickinger... Temperature at game time was 61° (F), 16° (C), with partly cloudy skies and light wind... The Thunder won the coin toss and elected to receive... All-time leading Claymores scorer K Rob Hart kicked off the season... LB Darnell Robinson came free on a blitz to sacks Burris for a six-yard loss back to the Claymores 12-yard line... The Claymores defense held the Thunder to only a field goal try after a first-and-goal from the six-yard line... QB Craig Nall hit RB Ken Simonton on a swing pass for 14 yards on his first attempt in a Claymores uniform... Nall and Simonton again connected for a 21-yard gain, extending the drive on a third-and-four play... Nall followed that up with a 17-yard connection to WR Edell Shepherd down the left sideline, setting up a first down at the Thunder 11... Simonton followed solid blocking up front on a draw play for an 11-yard touchdown... Hart's 122nd consecutive made point after gave the Claymores a 7-3 lead with 6:45 in the first period... The Claymores scoring march went 76 yards in seven plays, in only 3:03... Nall hit WR John Minardi on a 23-yard pass for a first down on third-and-ten... Nall eluded a rush and scrambled eight yards for a first down... Nall then connected with Minardi again down the for a 34-yard touchdown, giving the Claymores a 14-10 lead at 3:02 of the first quarter... The Claymores drive went 68 yards on six plays in 2:50... DE T.J. Bingham forced a fumble from RB David Allen, but Allen was able to fall on the ball and retain possession... At the end of the first quarter, the Claymores led 14-10... Scott McCready took the kickoff at the nine-yard line and took it 35 yards out to the 44... QB Shane Stafford was under center to start the second quarter for the Claymores... Stafford hit Minardi for a seven-yard gain on his first passing attempt... Stafford converted on a fourth-and-inches with a quarterback sneak for a Claymores first down at the Berlin 46... Shepherd caught a pass from Stafford, and made some nice moves for an 18-yard gain... Simonton then took a hand-off for 18 yards to give the Claymores first-and-goal at the Berlin 10... Simonton scored his second TD of the day on a five-yard scamper on another draw play to put the Claymores ahead 21-17... The drive covered 65 yards on six plays in 4:57... The Claymores stopped Berlin when English national FS Rowelle Blenman brought down Stambaugh on a third-and-seven play, forcing the first punt of the game with 6:12 remaining in the first half... 6:02 Stafford was intercepted by Berlin LB Jamal White at the Claymores' 25-yard line after the pass was tipped by DT Curry Dawson... Disaster struck again as Stafford's first pass of the drive was intercepted by Berlin CB Travis Coleman, who returned the pick 38 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown, putting the Thunder ahead 31-21... TE Rod Trafford was able to absorb a hard hit and hold on to a 12-yard pass from Stafford at the Thunder 38-yard line at the two-minute warning... WR Scott McCready's first catch of the 2003 season was a 26-yard touchdown pass from Stafford to cut the Berlin lead to 31-28 with 55 seconds remaining in the half... The score set a new NFLE record for most points in a half with the two squads combining for 59, besting the old mark of 52 set by Barcelona and Berlin on 5/26/01... The second quarter was also highest scoring second period in league history, with the teams combining for 35 points to best the previous mark of 34, set on 5/5/96... Halftime didn't slow the offenses, as the Claymores came out firing again, with Nall hitting Shepherd for a 20-yard catch-and-run to move into Berlin territory... FB Mike Malan followed up with an 18-yard run to give the Claymores a first down at the Thunder 27... Nall and Simonton connected again on a swing pass, good for 13 yards and another first down... The Thunder held at the 14-yard line, bringing in Hart for a 31-yard attempt... Hart's FG was good, tying the game at 31-31, and it was Hart's 13th consecutive field goal, just one short of the league mark... DE Ward and DT Michael Landry caught Irvin in the backfield for a loss of three yards... The Claymores held the Thunder at the 34-yard line, forcing a 52-yard four-point field goal try, which J.R. Jenkins missed short... Nall hit Couper with a long pass down the right sideline for a 35-yard gain to start the drive... The drive stalled at the 25, bringing out K Brian Holmes for a 42-yard FG attempt... Holmes' attempt hit the right upright and clanged out, but Berlin jumped offsides on the play, giving him another chance, which he converted from 37 yards out, giving the Claymores a 34-31 advantage with 2:43 remaining in the third quarter... The Claymores caused the first Thunder turnover of the day when CB Deveron Harper stripped the ball away from Pierre Brown and Flickinger pounced on the loose ball at the Berlin 35... Nall and Shepherd hooked up on a first-and-20 play following a holding call for a 21-yard play and a first down at the Berlin 24... Shepherd came free in the Berlin secondary on the next play, and forced the Berlin DB to grab him before he could catch the ball, giving the Claymores first-and-goal at the three-yard line following the pass interference call... Simonton punched the ball in to the end zone for his third score of the day on the following play, pushing the Scotland lead to 41-31... The three TDs on the day from Simonton tied a team record for most points scored in a game at 18, previously set by Donald Sellers at Frankfurt on 5/22/99 and Aaron Stecker, also against Berlin on 5/13/00... The Claymores' defense struck again when SS Robbie Robinson picked off a Burris screen pass after it ricocheted off the fingertips of RB David Allen... RB Maurice Hicks struck quickly, running around the left end for a 32-yard touchdown on the first play following the INT, pushing the lead to 48-31... The score broke another NFLE record, as the Claymores bested their opening day mark from last season of 45 points... Robbie Robinson struck again on the ensuing drive, picking off a Phil Stambaugh pass around midfield and bringing it back 49 yards to the Thunder five-yard line... Simonton tied a league record on the next play, running over the right end for a five-yard touchdown, his fourth of the day... The score put the Claymores on top 55-31 with 14:05 remaining in the fourth quarter, and tied Barcelona RB Mike Green (5/26/01) and Amsterdam RB Rafael Cooper (6/8/02) for the most touchdowns and points scored by an individual in one game at four and 24... DE Radell Lockhart picked up a seven-yard sack of Stambaugh on the next drive... Lockhart reached Stambaugh for another sack, this one coming on fourth-and-six, turning the ball back over to the Claymores' offense... P Kevin Stemke came on for his first punt with 9:00 left in the fourth quarter, booting it 40 yards down to the Thunder 10-yard line... Stambaugh led the Thunder down the field again with a series of screens and short passes, but the Claymores defense held strong, stopping the drive at the three-yard line... Hicks ended the scoring on the day with a 93-yard TD run down the left sideline... The run set a new NFLE record, breaking the previous mark of 90 yards, set by Rhein Fire's Jamal Robertson against Frankfurt 5/11/02... The touchdown was the Claymores eighth of the game, and the 12th for both teams combined, each tying a league record.
National Football League Europa Stories from April 9, 2003
- Galaxy to Visit Claymores - Frankfurt Galaxy
- NFLE Injury Report - NFLE
- Thunder Face Rival Rhein Fire in World Bowl Rematch - Berlin Thunder
- Claymores Continue Season-Opening Homestand - Scottish Claymores
- Admirals Host Dragons in Home Opener - Amsterdam Admirals
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